Horses for Courses: TOUR Championship

Maclain Huge and Nathan Petronzio led the way at open qualifying for this week’s Barbasol Championship, matching 8-under 64s at Boone’s Trace National GC to earn tee times Thursday at Keene Trace GC. Huge, who played collegiately at Virginia Tech, made eight birdies Monday and was without a bogey. The former PGA TOUR Latinoamerica member is set for his first career PGA TOUR start after years on the grind on various smaller tours. Petronzio goes back-to-back at Monday qualifying after carding 62 to earn a spot in last week’s John Deere Classic. The rising SMU junior won the American Atlantic Conference Championship this past spring and is continuing to display firepower, aiming to channel lessons from a missed cut at TPC Deere Run into this week in Kentucky. Like Huge, he was bogey-free with eight birdies. Gunner Wiebe carded 7-under 65 to earn the third available spot via Monday’s qualifier, with Daniel Wetterich earning the final spot by way of a 3-for-1 playoff at 6-under 66. Falling just short were Fred Meyer and Jansen Preston. In all, 71 players competed for four spots in the Barbasol Championship field. For all scores from the Barbasol Championship qualifier, click here. Here’s a capsule look at this week’s Barbasol Championship open qualifiers … Maclain Huge (8-under 64) Hometown: Lovettsville, Virginia Alma mater: Virginia Tech PGA TOUR starts: 0 Last name is pronounced HEW-ghee Notes: Has spent time on GPro Tour, Minor League Golf Tour and Florida Professional Golf Tour in chase of his professional golf dreams, among other tours … Missed cut in lone Korn Ferry Tour start at 2016 LECOM Health Challenge, into which he also Monday qualified … Won 2015 Virginia State Amateur, defeating Mark Lawrence, Jr., 4 and 3, in the 36-hole final … Played collegiately at Virginia Tech alongside two-time Korn Ferry Tour winner Trevor Cone … Took up game at age 4 after seeing golf on TV and becoming intrigued. First club was a sawed-off 7-iron with electrical tape wrapped around the grip; he would hit balls around his family’s 75-acre sheep pasture. Nathan Petronzio (8-under 64) Hometown: Bee Cave, Texas Alma mater: SMU (rising junior) PGA TOUR starts: 1 Cuts made: 0 Best PGA TOUR finish: MC, 2022 John Deere Classic Notes: Made his PGA TOUR debut at last week’s John Deere Classic with close friend and SMU teammate Justin Thompson on the bag; Thompson drove upwards of 15 hours from Texas to the Quad Cities … Was named 2021 American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year … Won 2022 American Athletic Conference individual title with a three-round total of 13-under at Southern Hills Plantation Club in Brooksville, Florida, longtime host venue for Second Stage of Korn Ferry Tour Q-School; helped SMU to AAC team title as well. Gunner Wiebe (7-under 65) Age: 33 Hometown: Denver, Colorado Alma mater: University of San Diego PGA TOUR starts: 2 Cuts made: 0 Best PGA TOUR finish: MC, 2010 Farmers Insurance Open/2016 Fortinet Championship Notes: Has made five career Korn Ferry Tour starts in addition to two prior TOUR appearances … His dad Mark Wiebe won twice on the PGA TOUR (1985 Michelob Championship at Kingsmill; 1986 John Deere Classic) in addition to five PGA TOUR Champions victories … Was named 2010 Colorado Golf Association Player of the Year … Spent three years working as an assistant pro at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, in addition to a stint in the finance industry … Has overcome an arm injury to resume his professional golf career. Daniel Wetterich (6-under 66; advanced through playoff) Age: 25 Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio Alma mater: Ohio State PGA TOUR starts: 2 Cuts made: 0 Best PGA TOUR finish: MC, 2020 The Honda Classic/2021 Rocket Mortgage Classic Notes: Holds conditional Korn Ferry Tour status this season after finishing T135 at Final Stage of Q-School last fall; has made one 2022 start at Visit Knoxville Open (MC) … Played three seasons at Ohio State, graduating in 2019 with a degree in finance, after playing one year at Xavier in his hometown … Won 2019 Robert Kepler Intercollegiate at Ohio State University GC (Scarlet), site of the Korn Ferry Tour’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship … Cousin Brett Wetterich won the 2006 AT&T Byron Nelson in addition to three Korn Ferry Tour titles and represented the United States at the 2006 Ryder Cup.

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The Sanderson Farms Championship, in its first iteration as a full FedExCup event, gave us a 17-year-old in his pro debut (Akshay Bhatia), a veteran showing he might yet crawl out of a slump (Zach Johnson) and, ultimately, an exciting International shootout between a bevy of Presidents cup hopefuls. Ultimately, Sebastián Muñoz from Colombia nudged out PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year Sungjae Im in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson. Welcome to the Monday Finish. Related: What’s in Muñoz’s bag? | The stats behind Muñoz’s first TOUR win THREE KEYS TO SUCCESS 1. A blistering 9-under 63 on Saturday was the catalyst to Muñoz having a chance at his first title. Having opened 70-67, it was Saturday’s nine-birdie effort that sent him surging into contention. 2. Recovery from missed fairways. Muñoz finished 42nd in driving accuracy after hitting 29 fairways, but he was 12th in greens hit (57 of 72). His iron play was good enough that he didn’t have to make a putt longer than 15 feet for any of his 21 birdies. 3. A little motivation and advice from a friend. After seeing Joaquin Niemann win the week before at A Military Tribute at the Greenbrier, Muñoz talked to his friend about closing the deal on the plane ride to Mississippi. “Him winning last week was the last piece of the puzzle that I needed to know that we’re good enough to compete, that we’re PGA TOUR members and we play to win,â€� Muñoz said. OBSERVATIONS The path to the PGA TOUR is clear cut for some. Some playera are born into golf families with unlimited access to facilities. Of course, they all work hard to get there – talent alone is never enough. But then there are the other stories, ones of players who had to overcome much steeper odds. Sebastián Muñoz never thought he’d make the PGA TOUR, let alone win. Do yourself a favor and read about his improbably journey here.  Ernie Els was probably a little concerned a month ago as he started thinking about the options for his four captain’s picks for December’s Presidents Cup at Australia’s Royal Melbourne. While there are plenty of eligible players he can choose from, including those with pedigree as impressive as Jason Day and Branden Grace, the play of those players had been a little questionable. Over the last two weeks, his smile must have grown, as more and more names are making a case to be selected. Joaquin Niemann and Sebastián Muñoz have both now won on the PGA TOUR. Sungjae Im continues to contend. Ben An has reemerged as a serious contender. The next few weeks are going to be huge for those trying to prove their worth. Read more about potential International team picks here. Akshay Bhatia may have missed the cut in his pro debut, but remember, he’s just 17. The youngster had a chance to make the weekend had he made birdie on his final hole – a pretty impressive feat in itself for the youngest-ever Walker Cup competitor. Ultimately, he missed out, but with starts over the next few weeks up his sleeve, it was a great learning experience. Should be fun to follow his on-course education. Read about Bhatia’s optimism moving forward here.  QUOTEBOARD “I never really thought I was going to be a PGA TOUR professional. I didn’t think I was that good.” – winner Sebastián Muñoz “I’m trying to treat each week as a phenomenal opportunity to get better.â€� – two-time major winner Zach Johnson, who had his first top-25 finish (T14) since April. “I haven’t played a skins format in quite some time, so it will be fun to try something a little different and add a few strategic elements as we compete. There has already been some friendly banter between us and that will continue until we get to the first tee.â€� – Tiger Woods after it was confirmed he will take on Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Hideki Matsuyama in a skins game in Japan.  SOCIAL SNAPSHOT

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